Chicago’s
Railroad Problem: Contesting the Form and Function of Urban Space
in America’s Railroad Capital
– Accepted for Presentation at the Sixth Meeting of the International
Association for the History of Transport, Traffic and Mobility,
September 18-21, 2008, in Ottawa, Canada
At
the dawn of the 21st century, Chicago, Illinois, remains one of
the principal railway centers of the world, with 2,800 miles of
track and 70 yards and terminals serving 1,200 freight and passenger
trains daily. The present form of Chicago’s railroad infrastructure
is a reflection of 19th century railroad strategy. In a hyper competitive
business environment, accessing Chicago’s central business district
was an essential element in proving the utility of new lines. Unfettered
rivalries among railroads made shared facilities unlikely, resulting
in the opening of six passenger stations and nearly three-dozen
freight stations in the downtown area by 1890. While these facilities
provided Chicago with an unparalleled range of transportation choices,
the frenetic pace of the terminal areas increasingly clashed with
urban elites who equated order with beauty.
Throughout
the 20th century, the elite of Chicago’s business community, who
sponsored the Burnham plan and numerous other official and quasi-official
urban planning efforts, viewed a reorganization of Chicago’s railroad
terminals as the pathway to remedying the central business district’s
ills. This view remained consistent across three epochs in planning:
from progressive-era reform through the New Deal and post-war urban
renewal.
This
paper examines the inherent conflict between the historical vision
for Chicago’s railroads, as articulated through official planning
documents, and the contemporary role of the Chicago terminal district
in the regional economy and as a hub for the national railroad network.
Special attention will be given to the fluctuating value given to
this area by planners and railroads amidst larger shifts in the
importance of railroads and cities in the American context.
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